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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22590859">now i see daylight</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/softlyhoney/pseuds/softsapphiq'>softsapphiq (softlyhoney)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, First Kiss, Getting Together, Legend of the Fire Princess, Missing Scene, i never write action so i hope this is okay, i will never not be soft for them</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 13:41:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,569</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22590859</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/softlyhoney/pseuds/softsapphiq</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Ah!” Perfuma’s scream pulls Mermista’s attention away from the bot she just incapacitated.</p><p>Perfuma is pinned to a boulder, her arms outstretched to protect herself, even as she wraps a thick vine around the torso of the bot. The bot almost immediately slices through the vine with a sharp swipe of its arm. It advances on her, and she grunts in pain as her back collides with the rock behind her. Her eyes stay closed long enough that Mermista feels a spike of panic in her chest.</p><p> </p><p>i just loved all of the subtle interactions merfuma had throughout the comic, and i wanted to see more of them during the battle</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Mermista/Perfuma (She-Ra)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>41</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>now i see daylight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>spoilers for legend of the fire princess!</p><p>merfuma in the graphic novel were SO! GOOD! i started writing this the day it came out and i finally got off my bullshit and finished it</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Ah!” Perfuma’s scream pulls Mermista’s attention away from the bot she just incapacitated.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perfuma is pinned to a boulder, her arms outstretched to protect herself, even as she wraps a thick vine around the torso of the bot. The bot almost immediately slices through the vine with a sharp swipe of its arm. It advances on her, and she grunts in pain as her back collides with the rock behind her. Her eyes stay closed long enough that Mermista feels a spike of panic in her chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not happening,” Mermista says under her breath. She looks back to the bot she hit a minute ago; it’s back up, but Frosta has it contained in a block of solid ice. Her face is tight with concentration, but she doesn’t look like she’s struggling. Mermista glances back at Perfuma, still backed into a corner but targeting the bot’s legs with more vines.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You got this one?” Mermista asks Frosta.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What kind of question is that?” Frosta quips. There’s an almost gleeful glint in her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re gonna unpack your questionable excitement over fighting evil Horde robots later,” Mermista says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Frosta makes a mocking face befitting an 11-year-old, not a monarch in charge of one of Etheria’s biggest kingdoms. “Just go help Perfuma.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mermista huffs and turns on her heel. “Need some help, Sunshine?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perfuma’s wide eyes meet hers. She doesn’t relax, not completely, but there’s relief in the way she lets her shoulders drop slightly, that shows Mermista the trust Perfuma has in her. It propels Mermista forward, adrenaline keeping her fear from overwhelming her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perfuma smiles, though it’s strained with exertion. “That would be wonderful,” she says, voice somehow still tinged with a hint of cheer—ever the optimist.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mermista bites back a grin and hits the bot in the side with a gush of water. It flies to the right, away from Perfuma, and crashes to the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good one!” Perfuma calls.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mermista grunts. She hits the bot again before it has the chance to recover, and Perfuma assists her with another vine, twice as thick as the last. The bot tries to break free, but unlike last time, it’s trapped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mermista allows herself a glance at Perfuma. She’s been on edge this whole trip, second-guessing not only the mission but every move she makes. It’s only gotten worse since she couldn’t heal the trees when Adora asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That had irritated Mermista. If Adora, with the power of She-Ra to aid her, didn’t think she could heal the emblem, what made her put that same pressure on Perfuma by asking her to heal an entire forest decimated by that very emblem?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This whole plan was a terrible idea to begin with, trying to tame a volatile runestone that’s been left festering for years. Now, on top of that, they have to fight off Adora’s ex-girlfriend and an army of Entrapta’s weapons, too?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah, Mermista’s staying behind next time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The bot still trapped by Perfuma’s vine, Mermista hits it with a final blast of water. It sputters pathetically once, twice, and then its red sensors blink out, thick tendrils of smoke pouring from within its paneling.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mermista plants her hands on her knees and takes controlled breaths in through her nose and out through her mouth, giving her heart rate a minute to slow to a normal rhythm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She glances over to the others; Adora is still engaged in one-on-one combat with Catra, and Scorpia is hovering in the background like she wants to intervene. Frosta has moved onto another bot, working with Glimmer on confusing it by teleporting into its blind spots and hitting it from behind with shards of ice. Bow is yelling at Entrapta, who’s practically salivating over the runestone. Probably imagining the kind of chaos she can wreak in the name of science, Mermista thinks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perfuma is hunched in on herself, making her tall frame small and fragile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mermista walks over to her. “Hey.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Perfuma looks up, her eyes are red-rimmed. Mermista softens. “You alright? Did it hurt you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perfuma closes her eyes and inhales deeply, bringing her hands together in front of her chest, the same way she does when she meditates. Mermista glances over at the others. She’s about to tell Perfuma that this kind of isn’t the time for relaxation rituals when Perfuma exhales and pushes her hands out in front of her, murmuring, “Everything is fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When she reopens her eyes, they’re clearer, focused on Mermista.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine, really. Thank you for helping.” She looks abashed, as if ashamed that she’d struggled with the bot so much.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mermista lightly bumps Perfuma’s bicep with her fist. “Don’t mention it. You don’t always have to be happy and calm, you know.” Perfuma frowns, but she doesn’t argue.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know what’s wrong with me. This place... It’s draining me of my energy. My aura feels so weak. Does that sound ridiculous?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Normally, Mermista would tell her yes, absolutely. She doesn’t exactly gel with Perfuma’s particular brand of spiritualism. But Mermista sees how shaken Perfuma is, and if Mermista has been on edge since they left Bright Moon, then she can hardly fault Perfuma for feeling out of place down here.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Every surface inside the cave is covered by sharp rocks, and a hollow echo reverberates every step, every clash of Adora’s sword. The forest they’d just come from was so barren that even Perfuma couldn’t revive anything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This entire place is the complete opposite of everything Perfuma is, the epitome of sunshine and warmth. Not this desolate wasteland shutting out all life around it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mermista reaches for Perfuma’s hand. Before Mermista can overthink and pull away, play it off as an accident, Perfuma intertwines their fingers. She squeezes Mermista’s hand and smiles gratefully. Mermista ignores the flush under her skin making her want to pull away, pretend it never happened, maybe avoid Perfuma for the rest of her life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>From the other side of the cave, Entrapta screams and crashes to the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s going on?” Catra yells. Mermista hardly hears her over the sudden rumbling of stones and the intense sparking of the bot she had been perched on a few minutes before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span>something in the ember!” is all Mermista catches over the clamor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This doesn’t sound good…” Mermista looks to Perfuma, who’s worrying her lower lip with her teeth. Mermista grips her hand tighter for a moment before she lets go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Looks like it’s time to get back in there. You okay to fight?” she asks, surveying Perfuma with a critical eye.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As ready as I ever am to partake in violence,” she says with a sigh. She squares her shoulders and nods, though, a tight smile on her lips. “Together?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s do this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Later, after Mermista returns to her room after a long, relaxing swim in Bright Moon’s ridiculously luxurious heated indoor pool, Perfuma knocks on her door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Perfuma says, surprised. Probably because Mermista’s skin is still damp with droplets of water and her hair is sticking to her shoulders. She could’ve used her powers to dry herself, but honestly, Mermista didn’t care enough to bother.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, hey,” Mermista says, rubbing the back of her neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perfuma smiles. It looks like her real smile, all soft curves and laugh lines around her eyes—not the tight-lipped grimace she’d been wearing practically the entire time they’d been out hunting down the fire emblem. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before her thoughts can wander further, Mermista clears her throat. “You can come in.” She steps aside and opens her door wider before sitting on her bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the door shuts softly behind them, brushing against the carpet and encasing them in quiet, Perfuma turns to Mermista. She opens her mouth to speak, then hesitates. She looks… shy. nervous?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mermista pats the spot next to her. “Is everything okay?” she asks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perfuma perches on the edge. She fiddles with the end of her long, gaping sleeve. “Oh, yes,” she says quickly. “Everything’s fine.” She won’t meet Mermista’s eye, though, and her easy smile from just a minute ago is long gone. “I just… wanted to thank you for earlier.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You already thanked me,” Mermista reminds her. “Really. It’s not a big deal. Us princesses stick together. It’s kind of what we’re here for, remember?” She hopes the teasing edge to her tone doesn’t come across as sarcastic. Something about Perfuma seems fragile, like even though they won the battle and everyone came home safe, she’s still unsettled by something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mermista’s tone or her words must shake something loose in Perfuma, though, because her timidity fades, replaced by a calm decisiveness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mermista, I came here to ask you something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is this still about the battle earlier?” she asks, sensing the shift in direction.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sort of… but also more than that. Today just made me realize something I think I’ve wanted for a long time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mermista’s heart skips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” she drawls, confused. “So what is it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perfuma smiles and it’s that soft, genuine smile again. Mermista could look at her like this for hours, eyes bright and sure.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have feelings for you,” she says. “Actually, I’m in love with you.” Simply. As if it’s a truth as utterly plain as the energy that dances, slow and smooth, under Mermista’s fingertips whenever she uses her powers. “And if you want me too, I’d like to be with you.” Her earlier nervousness seems to have vanished, leaving a radiant surety that, Mermista thinks, is absolutely beautiful on her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s not cockiness or even confidence, but a relief that comes with finally acknowledging a secret hidden in your chest for so long you’re more afraid of letting go of it than the fallout when everyone else finally knows the truth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mermista’s mind reels at first, stunned. Perfuma has feelings for </span>
  <em>
    <span>her? </span>
  </em>
  <span>After all the times she’s acted like even being in the same vicinity as Mermista is a nuisance? After their hundreds of dumb disagreements turned heated arguments, only stopped from devolving into full-on chaos because of Perfuma’s pacifist nature?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But as crazy as it sounds to Mermista that, under all of Perfuma’s irritation with her, she’s still grown to care for her beyond the way she does for the other princesses, Mermista understands it. Because, despite all of her own gripes with Perfuma since they’ve joined the Alliance, despite how infuriating she used to find Perfuma’s constant optimism</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span>Mermista loves her too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe against her better judgment, since she always tries to remind herself that feelings lead to complications, especially when they’re tangled up within something else as complicated as a </span>
  <em>
    <span>war. </span>
  </em>
  <span>And if there’s one thing Etheria doesn’t need more of, it’s complications.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mermista?” Perfuma eventually asks, breaking the not-uncomfortable silence. She doesn’t look worried, just a hint of curiosity atop her calm demeanor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mermista breathes out heavily, suddenly overcome with nerves of her own. How Perfuma can be so calm right now is beyond her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I, um, I like you too,” she says anticlimactically, avoiding the true depth of her feelings. She hopes Perfuma doesn’t notice. Her face feels hot, as if she’s the one taking a risk with her heart on her sleeve, not the one giving validation to Perfuma’s confession.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perfuma grins brilliantly, nose scrunched adorably. “That’s wonderful. If you didn’t I wouldn’t have minded, of course, though it probably would’ve been a bit awkward for a while</span>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perfuma,” Mermista says, regaining her composure. “Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, things could get messy if something happens between us and it doesn’t work out. We’d still have to work together.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mermista isn’t sure why she’s trying to talk Perfuma out of a relationship with her—something she’s wanted for longer than she’s willing to admit—but something about this entire conversation feels surreal. Just that morning, she and Perfuma had willingly (well, mostly) set out with the rest of the Alliance to track down a runestone rumored to be the equivalent to a bomb. And now Perfuma is sitting on her bed, telling Mermista she wants to date her?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mermista is used to the dangerous adventures that come with being a top member of the Horde’s greatest enemy. She’s not used to things as mundane as having her crush tell her that she likes Mermista back. That’s a level of normalcy Mermista hasn’t had the luxury of in years. Even when she dated Sea Hawk, their dates had consisted of extravagant gondola rides and arson.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mermista’s life is never this simple. It’s… nice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perfuma sits up straighter and scoots closer to Mermista, taking her hands. “I know what we do is dangerous, and every day means that something could go horribly wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought I was the cynic,” Mermista mumbles. Perfuma gives her an irritated look that, with hindsight, Mermista sees is more fond than exasperated. “Sorry. Go on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you. I was trying to say that, because our lives are so hectic and we live with so much risk, maybe it’s even more important for us to hold onto the things that are most precious to us. To make things as trivial as romance work, despite the risk of drama. Otherwise, I’m not sure what life I’m fighting for.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mermista releases a shaky exhale. Perfuma squeezes her hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, look at Spinnerella and Netossa. They’ve been together for years. They even got married somehow, despite the war.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mermista laughs. Some of the tension eases from her shoulders, and she’s reminded of why she fell for Perfuma in the first place. Her unyielding optimism and unending kindness used to frustrate Mermista, who’d felt bitter resentment toward the world that had let the Horde nearly destroy her home. A world that had seemed keen on letting the rest of Etheria burn, too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mermista’s younger self would laugh in her face if she knew that she would fall in love with those same qualities in Perfuma now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe I’m an idiot for saying this, but I think you’re right,” she admits.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perfuma laughs. “I would say a willingness to love makes you wise, not an idiot. It seems more foolish to run away from happiness, in my opinion. And I’m not just saying that to get you to kiss me,” she says, a mischief in her eyes Mermista has rarely seen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mermista laughs once, short and surprised, completely caught off guard by this version of Perfuma. Not that she’s complaining.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, don’t let me stop you any longer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perfuma giggles and leans forward. Mermista can feel her breath, warm and sweet as honey, on her lips. Her eyes slip closed of their own accord, and she lets go of Perfuma’s right hand to clutch her sweater, pulling her forward. Their lips touch, light and gentle at first. When they find the right angle, noses brushing ungracefully, Perfuma presses harder. Mermista sighs. When they pull away, Mermista leans her forehead against Perfuma’s without opening her eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was nice,” she says.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perfuma’s laugh dances across her skin. “I think so, too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Later, they lay together on Mermista’s covers. Mermista cradles Perfuma’s hands in hers and plays idly with her fingers while Perfuma dozes with her head on Mermista’s shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Part of Mermista is still afraid of how this could end, but growing up in wartime has ensured that she’s used to that feeling by now, and of all the risks she’s taken in her life so far, this one is by far the sweetest.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i am weak for this opposites attract song</p></blockquote></div></div>
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